Loscam Sale Bodes Well for China Pallet Pooling Growth

Talking to Australian contacts this week, the sale of Loscam to Hong Kong based, PRC state-owned China Merchants Group has generated a level of excitement about the potential synergies that might be provided to facilitate Loscam’s growth in the People’s Republic of China, while potentially making more resources available to other operating regions.

The sale was announced earlier this week. Click here to see earlier coverage about the Loscam sale to China Merchants Group. Loscam has long been the entrenched number 2 provider in Australia after CHEP, the Avis of Australian pallet rental, as it were. Loscam, in addition, has in recent years established itself as a market leader in a number of emerging market south Asian countries as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Malaysia as well as establishing a presence in China.

President of China Merchants Group Dr Fu Yuning said the acquisition was a significant landmark for the Group.

“Through our broad range of business ventures in China and Hong Kong, I am sure we will bring extensive China knowledge to Loscam. The acquisition will also further extend the capabilities of China Merchants Group existing supply chain infrastructure and services business and enhance and optimise our service offerings” said Dr Fu.

Loscam is the first major overseas acquisition by China Merchants Group outside of the Asia region. Currently, the pallet hiring sector in China is still in an infancy stage, commented the CMG release. “With the development and modernization of the retail sector and supply chain management,” the release stated, “as well as the continuous and further implementation of the national pallet standardization policy, this sector possesses an enormous growth potential.”

CMG believes that the pallet pooling sector possess an excellent growth outlook, and is also expected to create strong synergies with the existing port & logistics business of CMG. “Through the acquisition of Loscam, CMG will benefit from the Company’s vast management experience and extensive client network in the pallet pooling sector,” the CMG release stated.

Loscam Chief Executive Officer Mark Daniel said that it was an extremely positive outcome for Loscam, with the company set to benefit from the change. “We are all extremely excited about the opportunities that the new ownership will bring to Loscam,” said Mr Daniel.